Cheat & rape charge on Gowda son

- Rail minister denies actress claim of secret marriage

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Karthik with Maithreyi

Bangalore, Aug. 28: A Kannada actress has accused railway minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda’s son Karthik of secretly “marrying” her and then starting a physical relationship before jilting her, but investigations into the alleged cheating and rape failed to take off today.

The complainant, Maithreyi, was busy with a television talk show.

Police sources said they had to serve a notice to the actress, who went public with her allegations yesterday through local TV channels, seeking time to formally question her to pursue the case.

RT Nagar police had filed an FIR against Karthik late last night, based on Maithreyi’s complaint, before taking the actress for the mandatory medical examination. A senior officer said sexual exploitation on the promise of marriage was tantamount to rape. But although Karthik’s arrest was imminent under the penal code sections — 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating) — slapped against him, the allegations needed to be investigated before taking an accused into custody.

Karthik, a businessman who works out of Mangalore, 350km from here, said he had nothing to do with Maithreyi and was being “trapped” to “malign” his father.

Maithreyi, a model and a newcomer in the Kannada film industry, has accused Karthik of secretly “marrying” her on June 5 at his house in Mangalore and then starting a physical relationship. In her complaint, she accused Karthik of ditching her to formally get engaged with the daughter of a businessman in Coorg.

Her “marriage”, she said in her complaint, was an entirely private affair, with Karthik tying a mangalsutra (a sacred yellow thread usually tied during wedding ceremonies) on her. No one else was present, nor was the marriage registered.

The bombshell dropped on the Gowda family even as Karthik’s engagement was under way. “My son has been falsely implicated,” Gowda told reporters. “I won’t interfere in the matter as the law will take its course. Mine is a close-knit family and I’d have known if there was anything. I’m sure he wouldn’t have done anything wrong.”

Karthik said he didn’t even know Maithreyi. “I’m being trapped to malign my father. My life revolves around work and home,” he said.

Maithreyi stood by her story. “I met him through another friend on May 8 (this year) at a coffee shop in Sanjay Nagar (in Bangalore),” she told reporters during a brief interaction outside a city temple this morning. “After that meeting, we got close to each other andů started going around,” she said.

“All along he said he loved me and I trusted him. Our relationship grew to a different level when he promised to present me to his parents and said since he was the only son his family would agree to his wishes.

“Sometime later, Karthik expressed his keenness to get physical, although I insisted on getting married before getting into such a relationship. On June 5, he tied the mangalsutra at his home in Mangalore. After that we engaged in physical relationship on several occasions.”

The alleged drift began recently when Karthik began ignoring her calls. “I had this bad feeling when he started ignoring me of late,” she said.

Although Maithreyi released some pictures, mostly selfies with Karthik, there was none to prove the “marriage”.

Her sister Rupa claimed she was among the few who knew about the mangalsutra. “Although our mother was against this relationship from the beginning, I knew whatever was happening,” Rupa said.

U.D. Indira, the actress’s mother, said she had hated the idea of her daughter dating a politician’s son. “I wanted my daughter to stay away from that political family because I knew things wouldn’t work out in the end,” Indira told reporters at her modest home in RT Nagar in the city, adding that she had never liked Karthik.

Chief minister P.C. Siddaramaiah said the “law would take its own course”.